This past week Chris & I took a long-weekend trip to Utah to visit family and friends.

I’m doing a 3 part recap of the trip

Part I: A Red, White, and Blue recap with the foods we ate for 4th of July

Part II: Sights from the road (see below)

Part III: Things we did (check back tomorrow!)

If you’ve never driven through Arizona and Utah, there is really some beautiful scenery. You pass through lots of different environments with lots of different plant-life and the variety keeps things interesting. Here’s a little taste of our trip.

Friday, trip to Utah:

We left at 6:45am. Rocky tried to jump in the car with us, having seen the suitcases and knowing that we were going away. Broke my heart, poor baby! (we had a friend come stay with him while we were gone)

The drive was beautiful. It was HOT through Arizona, but soon it cooled down as we continued driving north-bound

First through the Arizona palm-trees in Phoenix

through the windy, mountain roads

sand-dunes that made it look like we were in Egypt!

Giant rocks of red and brown

Pine trees and fresh mountain air in Utah

Tuesday, return trip:

Crazy red rocks, dotted with green shrubs

A tiny sliver of Lake Powell across the plains

A storm blowin’ in as we approach Tucson

And we made it inside approximately 30 seconds before the bottom of the sky just fell out and Tucson was put on “Severe Storm Warning”, with caution of flooding and damaging wind gusts up to 80 mph in some areas.

Thank goodness we made good time and got home early!

Tomorrow I’ll share some of the more day-to-day things we did while in Utah. Then its back to the daily grind of life here in Tucson. (Pssst:  You’re not missing much! I’m just back to the daily grind!)

Do you prefer road trips or flying? I prefer to fly simply because its faster, but there’s really something to be said for long road trips. I really think it lets you get to experience the country in a way you never can if you only fly to your final destination.

This past long weekend away in Utah has been phenomenal! I’ll do a couple recap posts rather than have a single, really long recap. So today I’m going to show you some of the eats I had for the 4th of July festivities…

 

Décor at my Grandma’s place:

Fooooooood:

I made a lovely (if I do say so myself) Red, white, and “bleu” salad – forgot to take a picture until after it had been dug into, so sorry that it doesn’t look too pretty anymore!

The obvious thing would to be to use strawberries, blueberries, and a white cheese. But that’s too easy (and I didn’t have those ingredients on hand, heh). So I used raspberries, almond slivers (as the “white”) and bleu cheese crumbles! I also threw on some sliced green apple at the last minute. Served alongside a homemade citrus vinaigrette.

And, of course, there was BBQ! My plate:

Half of a roasted corn-on-the-cob, two halves of chicken sausage (one spicy, one sweet), some roasted red potatoes, steamed broccoli, and some little tastes each of BBQ ribs and BBQ chicken. I also had a ton of my red, white, and bleu salad on a separate plate.

Desserts:

Red, white and blue cupcakes & strawberries! I had half a cupcake and 2 strawberries!

As much as Chris and I enjoyed our time in Utah, it feels great to be back home. We made amazing timing on the way back yesterday – leaving at 5:45am and arriving in Tucson by 5:15pm. Yup….it was a loooong day (but much faster than it took us to get there! We took a short cut on the way home and saved 2 hours!!!)

Today I’ve got to jump back full-force into the swing of things. I have two classes I’m teaching that start this upcoming Monday so I need to finish up prep-work and get my rear into gear!

…..not before a long bike ride, first!

Took the beautiful, scenic route today. Easing my way back into Arizona life after spending the past 4 days in the absolutely gorgeous Utah weather (around 80ish or so, snow in mountains, gentle breeze…) a stark contrast from Tucson’s 115 degree death-heat. At least we have some pretty mountain views, too.

and if you look hard enough, you can even find a little grass once in awhile…

Happy Fourth of July, American friends! For anyone else….Happy Monday???

I’m still in Utah and enjoying time with the family. I’ll be back soon with a full recap and pictures of all the crazy shenanigans we’ve been getting into!

 

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And here’s a flashback to 4th of July 2008 – my last 4th of July to spend in Florida, because we moved in summer of 2009 prior to 4th of July.

A good friend from Texas came out to visit and we spent the 4th down on the intercostal waterway in West Palm Beach, where they have multiple breath-taking displays going off above the water in about a dozen different locations.

Awww, Florida. I miss your water. Le sigh.

Have a Happy and SAFE 4th!!!

Do you have any traditional dishes that you always prepare for 4th of July, or for summer, in general??

Hello, lovelies! Chris and I have made it to Utah after our 12 hour wonderful endless drive. Really though, it’s a much nicer drive than the one to Austin….which is 14 hours and we have made countless times. Beautiful scenery in this part of the country and I’m feeling very Jack Kerouac “On the Road” style

At any rate, I’m going to leave you with a Best of 2011 (thus far) while I’m off showing Chris the sights & visiting with family.

6. Wedding Daze (Part I and II), January 2011:

[photo credit by Magan Blasig of Urban Grey Photography in Austin, TX]

“After being with the man for over EIGHT YEARS, believe me – I was READY for this day!!!”

5. First Half-Marathon, January 2011:

“At mile 10 it became apparent that I would NOT see my family again until the finish. In all of my training runs I usually stop and do a stretch-break around mile 7 or 8, but I had forced myself to keep running with the hope that I could take my stretch break when I saw my family….thus prolonging the time spent with them. By the time I decided to go ahead and stop for stretching, the pain hit IMMEDIATELY.”

4. Cooking & Playing, February 2011

“Despite having wind advisories (gusts up to 50mph), I was determined to spend as much time outside as possible this weekend!”

3. The Big Break-Up Debate, March, 2011

When you’re friends with a couple and they break up, do you have to side with one of them (the one you work with and see most often), or do you have to pick sides? How does all that work out?

2. Bit by the Triathlon Bug, May, 2011

“The best part is that after it was done, I didn’t feel like I was dying!!!!!”

1.My Heart Belongs to Texas, May, 2011

There’s balance in everything:  here’s reasons why Austin is Awesome….and also why it has some sucky parts.

So there you have it. Go back and check out some old posts, just for fun!

What are some of your favorite moments of this year so far?

Best:

Monday night dinner party + random limo escalade to ride around town.

um, hello? BBQ, homemade dump cake, vanilla ice cream + free booze/limo on the same night? It’s almost too much awesomeness packed into the same day!

Worst:

I think it has to be a tie between the 12-hour drive to get to Utah and all the pre-trip prep work (laundry, packing, etc.) that was required.

I always love vacations, but hate the stuff that goes along with it….I’m always a last-minute packer, and then things tend to stay in the suitcase for days even after my return!

What are your plans for 4th of July?

What were your Best and Worst moments from the week?

I’m driving north-bound right now for the 4th of July weekend to see friends and family and hopefully have  a lot of fun. While I’m gone I’ve got a couple fun posts to keep you entertained. But no worries, I’ll be back before you know it!

Have you ever heard of the Cut The Fat Podcast? I’ve talked about it here (explaining why I eat meat), here (giving the 6 principles of Fat Loss), and here (8 reasons why we fail at weight loss). Well yesterday I listened to another great one all about “The Good, Bad, and Ugly” of the Atkins diet (very low carb, high protein)…which is, in theory, they way I try to eat (though I eat way more carbs than Atkins ever allowed! I love them so much!)

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The thing about Atkins is that it had to be revised over the years. Originally Atkins gave no mention to the types of meats you should eat. Anything and everything was allowed. But today we know that some cuts of meat are healthier than others. And we know that a diet consisting of nothing but bacon, cheese, and eggs is not healthy (at least not without including other things!) The diet has since been revised accordingly, to stipulate the types of meat that are best (lean cuts, etc.) and those to stay away from (higher fat meat, meat that’s been cured with sugar, etc.)

Well, it must be Myth-Buster’s day because after listening to the podcast I ran across this article:  10 exercise myths that won’t go away.

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10. The cardio machine will tell you how many calories you burn.

False! Although cardio machines give a rough estimation, there is no way for it to be exact, and it typically over-estimates the number of calories burned. At any rate, it should NOT be relied upon!

9. Women who lift weights become bulky.

Are you kidding me? I think most of the people in blog-land know this to be a misnomer. If you’re still unsure, just check out Sable’s blog!

(Source)Yikes! But that’s just not realistic. It’ll never happen simply from lifting weights, alone, and most women couldn’t look like this if they wanted to!!

8. Heart rate monitors let you know how hard you’re working.

This may be a little controversial, because I know a LOT of bloggers who depend on their heart-rate monitors. But, just like the flawed calorie counters on the cardio machines, heart rate monitors aren’t 100% accurate. Your best bet is to rely upon yourself and your own perceived exertion. Your estimate is surprisingly accurate!

7. Your weight is the end all, be all.

This one is really what the Cut-the-fat podcast is all about! Everyone says they want to loose weight…but is it really weight you want to loose? Or do you really want to loose the FAT and have a more toned physique? These two things are very different! You may be improving your overall fitness, and even gain a pound or two! You shouldn’t be solely relying upon the scale to measure progress!

6. Low-intensity is the best way to burn fat.

I think a lot of bloggers know the importance of interval training! Though low-intensity exercise definitely has its place, it should not be relied upon for fat loss!

5. Protein shakes are perfect for post-workout snacks.

Protein shakes (unless they’re homemade) are going to contain lots of artificial and processes crap in them. Also, they’re basically a meal-replacement, but many people use them as “snacks.” Beware of the added calories!

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4. Spot-training is perfect for toning particular problem areas.

Although it might be nice to just do 1000 sit ups and suddenly have rock-hard abs, that’s not the way fitness works. You have to focus on the whole body, not just a single area, to see real, lasting results!

3. If I exercise 30-45 minutes a day, I can eat whatever I want.

Yikes! Hopefully no one thinks this is true! But, you may be unaware of just HOW MUCH what you eat plays into how you look. You could exercise 2 hours a day and if you eat junk food, you are still going to look….un-fit??? Is that a word? The point is, it is very important what you put into your mouth…no matter how much exercise you do.

2. No pain, no gain.

You have to be aware of the difference between normal exercise discomfort and real pain. See Caitlin’s tips about telling whether the pain you are feeling is normal or not.

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1. Stretching prevents injuries.

This is the biggest myth that I continued to believe until just within the past year or so! Studies are increasingly reporting no effect of stretching on preventing injury. Instead, it seems like static stretching could actually even cause an injury. Now research is suggesting that its best to engage in dynamic stretching prior to exercise (swinging arms in circles, jogging with high knees etc)., and to leave the static stretching for post-exercise relief.

Have you been “fooled” into believing any of these workout myths?

What are your thoughts of low carb/high protein diets?

You’ve probably, at some point, seen something on a blog and thought “That looks delicious – I can make that!” or “That gadget is so cool – I want one!” Who hasn’t?

Well this post is all about the recent things I’ve seen in blog land that I’ve copy-catted! (is that a word? I’m going to use it as one!)

1. Running Shirt – seen from Meghann & Gina

This little diddy is from Target for $19.99 and really couldn’t be any cuter! I typically prefer tighter-fitting tops, but it has been so blasted hot that it’s nice to have something a little looser. The babydoll style is very flattering and it comes in all types of cute colors! Plus, its super comfy on runs, does not bunch or ride up, and really holds the girls in place – even without a sports bra!

I (rather unsuccessfully) tried to get a picture of the back….

Please ignore the chalky-white deodorant marks in my under-arm. Yikes! That is just unsavory!

2. Mmmm Sauce – seen from Sarah & Caitlin

Mmmm sauce is a vegan “sauce” made from oil, almonds, chickpeas, and seasonings (in a nutshell- see the recipe on Mamma Pea/Sarah-‘s page linked above). After seeing Caitlin raving about it a number of times in the past few months I decided to make it myself. Bonus – I had all the ingredients on hand!

This is Momma Pea’s picture:

This is MY picture:

uh….what the what?!?

Granted, I did end up throwing it back in the processor for awhile longer (there were still some chickpea chunks), but it never looked quite as pretty as Momma Pea’s. My verdict? I thought it tasted….fine. Very similar to hummus & I love hummus, but I didn’t think it tasted as dreamy as I had hoped/expected. Maybe it was too hyped up? Or maybe I messed up. Totally possible.

I ate it one day slathered in a pita with other lunchy-time fillings. Then I repurposed the leftovers the following day, threw it back in the food processor – this time with a quarter of an avocado – and served it up atop a taco salad (it’s the greenish-looking blob on the left of the beans)!

A very healthy, protein-packed sauce that is much healthier than the typical mayo-based crap you get from restaurants. Even so….it wasn’t my fave. I must have messed it up somehow.

3. Overnight Oats/Oats in a Jar – seen from Chelsey, Kath & Tina

I cannot believe that I have never tried oats in a jar (OIAJ) until just this week! What is wrong with me!? This is clearly the most perfect summer-time breakfast there could ever be!!! And nothing could be easier! I’ve had it twice this week already!

First – in an almost-empty jar of Cinnamon Raisin Swirl Peanut Butter – oats, chia seeds, strawberries, peanut butter, greek yogurt, almond milk…mixed all up (except berries) the night before, left in the fridge, and eaten in the morning with a spoon.

Second – an almost-empty jar of almond butter. I went a little crazy this time and ended up filling it to the top with yummy goodness! I ended up having it both as breakfast and my mid-morning snack because I couldn’t finish it all in one meal!

Still loving the giant blueberries in season right now!!!! So plump + juicy!

I’m off to tackle a giant To-Do list, getting ready for our trip this weekend! I’m so excited to get out of the million-degree heat and somewhere a little bit cooler!!

Have you been a copy-cat of anything you’ve seen in blog land?

Have you tried any of the above things I’ve copy-catted? What are your thoughts?

Can you believe – last week I participated in WIAW, but I totally forgot to link up with Jenn’s little massive link party! What is wrong with me!? That’s okay – I’m doing it right this week. Let’s jump right in, shall we?

Breakfast:

Again, I took advantage of working from home to do a little bit more elaborate breakfast than normal. I made blueberry protein pancakes with fresh blueberries. I topped it with a healthy dollop of vanilla flavored greek yogurt and a tablespoon of blueberry Bonne Mama preserves. I had a small potato done hash-brown style, with a piece of bacon. Delicioso!

Lunch:

Since breakfast was so big I was full for hours and I decided to do a simple salad for lunch. I layered it cobb-salad-style. Rows of raw broccoli, leftover beer-butt chicken, carrot slices, leftover corn on the cob, and cheese. Filling, but not too heavy.

Dinner:

We hit up Create Café. You’ll notice it was on my “To-Enjoy” List! We’ve been before for lunch, but this was our first time for dinner. I got the exact same thing I had last time because I enjoyed it so much – a chicken gyro with sweet potato fries. The hubbs got a bacon mushroom burger with regular fries. The thing I love most about this place are the fresh ingredients they use and their crazy, eclectic style. I love the whole matchy-but-not-matchy thing. They’ve totally got that kind of style going on. Check it out…

His:

Hers:

$1 drinks – even imports!

Décor:

It was delicious, as always. Though….looking back on my eats I see that I have kind of a sick amount of carbs. I need to work on that and bring some greens back into my life!!!

Check out my To-Enjoy List on the fridge:

More and more is being checked off every day! Let’s see – I’m spending 4th of July with family, so that’s about to get a check-mark. Not sure if the whole Cabin Rental thing is going to work out….all of the parks here are closed due to fire warning (with all the fires raging wild and horrible draught we’re having). I still want to hit up the Salt River for some tubing fun, and an outdoor summer concert/movie series, but I’ve already been able to check off most of the things I’d hoped to enjoy this summer!

Evening Snack:

When we got home I wanted something a little sweet. I had an Apple Pie Larabar that was just delicious. It always amazes me how Larabars are able to really make the bar taste like whatever the flavor is by using all natural fruit + nuts and so few ingredients!

All it has are dates, almonds, unsweetened apples, walnuts, raisins, and cinnamon! And it really tastes like apple pie!!!

I think these babies are going to come in handy when I’m doing my All REAL FOOD challenge, starting in a couple weeks. I have such a horrible sweet tooth so its nice to know I can get eat something like this to satisfy my taste-buds without messing up my challenge!

Do you participate in WIAW? Are you ever surprised by your eats when you go back and look at them all?

What are some fun summer activities you have wanted to do (or have already done)?

Last night we had plans to go over to a friends’ place. He’s house-sitting for a family that is out of town and they have a beautiful home in a nice, gated community here in Tucson. We planned to go over, make dinner, and maybe watch a movie.

When we drive up to the gate, we were greeted with a beautiful fountain and wild flowers

We BBQ’ed beer-butt chicken and baby back ribs, and while the boys manned the grill, I whipped up some mango-avocado salsa and a dump cake.

The salsa was very easy and I just used ingredients I had on hand. I chopped up 1 large mango, half an avocado, half an onion, half a tomato, about a quarter of a red bell pepper, 2 cloves of fresh pressed garlic, a quarter of a cup of corn kernels, sea salt and pepper, a squeeze of lime juice, and a handful of torn cilantro I had on hand. The resulting mess looked like this:

Looked kinda like mush, but it tasted amazing! It was gone QUICK!

And here’s the dump cake before it went in the oven:

and after it was cooked it had a beautiful golden brown crust to it.

While it was baking I also made homemade ice cream! Decided to keep it simple with a basic vanilla

And though I somehow missed out on taking pictures of the meat and other accompanying dishes (corn on the cob, steamed asparagus, summer salad), I sure did get a picture of the dump cake with the vanilla ice cream!!!

Just amazing!!!

all done!

But somehow magically, just as we were about to sit down to watch a movie, my phone rang. Through some twist of fate (long story), we were having a 22 person limo escalade (with full bar) come to pick us up from the house, drive us around wherever we wanted to go, before returning us safely again whenever we wished!

So even though we’d intended for it to be a “low key” night (+ it was a work night!!!) we decided we couldn’t pass the opportunity up!!!

I don’t like to blog pictures of people without their consent, so I don’t have many pictures to share, but here are a couple that I think are okay:

When the thing first pulled up

Some of the décor:  There were spinning CD – looking things, and lots of flat screens everywhere. Plus a full bar, of course.

The thing got a little trashed as the evening wore on….

All in all, it was a fabulous evening (even though I woke up today with killer headache and cursing life that I still have to go to work!!!) I definitely don’t regret a thing, though! These opportunities only come along very rarely so I just had to jump when it came up….work night and all.

How often/do you go out on work nights?

Have you ever had an awesomely random night like this before?

It’s amazing how Mondays just have this “personality,” if you will…

Some weeks they aren’t so bad; some weeks they strike with a vengeance. I think today is the latter of those two options. I spent much of the weekend working. I’m a little behind on a couple deadlines and I really need to not only catch up – bet get ahead on some work. That’s because – I haven’t mentioned it here – but Chris and I are going out of town for a long 4th of July weekend! We’re going to be heading north to Utah

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We’ve known for awhile and I’ve had kind of mixed feelings about it (family drama, and what not), but I’m actually starting to really look forward to it.

1. For one thing, Chris will be meeting all of my cousins, aunts, and uncles on my Dad’s side that he has never met before, despite us having been together for almost a decade now!!! We’re going to have a big family BBQ and get-together on Monday, the 4th of July.

2. And for another, I can NOT WAIT to get out of this weather we’re having in southern Arizona! It’s been over 110 F every day for weeks now. It’s brutal! My Grandma tells me there’s still snow in the mountains and ski lodges are planning to stay open through August! CRAZY!

3. Also, Chris has never been to Utah before and it is really gorgeous! I’m going to take him up to the mountains to see the snow, and to Park City to visit the cute shops. And maybe to the big, outdoor Gateway Mall.

4. And we’ve also got tickets to go to this big Fourth of July celebration thing on Saturday called Freedom Festival, which culminates with a concert by Brad Paisley and fireworks! Did I mention that fireworks are banned this year in Tucson due to the draught? Yeah, I’m pretty excited to be getting outta here for the 4th.

But that means I’ve got a LOT to get done – both for work & for preparation for the trip!

So that’s where I am. Hello, Monday – please be good to me!!!

How do you feel about Mondays?

How was your weekend?